Who is your real-life superhero?
Do you have a real-life superhero? Maybe it’s a physician or nurse who took extra time to ease your child’s fears. Or maybe you know a patient who turned his or her health care crisis into a way to help others.
Tell us about it. Take the time to recognize an exceptional doctor, nurse, staff member, parent, or patient at Amplatz Children’s Hospital by telling us why he or she is your superhero.
Click here to submit your story or a link to your video via email.
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George Lagerstrom is his family’s superhero.
"George is his family's superhero because he continues to make everyone else laugh, even when he is not feeling well. He teaches us how to be strong, stay positive, and accept all of life's challenges! George, we feel The Force!
George's superheroes are all the staff members who have welcomed him into the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Amplatz. After a complex heart surgery and six months in the CICU at an out-of-state hospital, George is happy to be back in his home state of Minnesota."
—Julie Lagerstrom, George’s mother
Jeremy, an Amplatz patient, says Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is his real-life superhero.
Watch Jeremy's superhero video.
Zachary Bartz has two real-life superheroes: his friend the Navy SEAL and his brother, Nic.
Watch Zachary's superhero video.
Nurse practitioner Lexi Maciej is Anna Lee Proefrock’s superhero.
"Lexi is ALWAYS available for answering questions, no matter the time of day … and although Anna does not like going to "her hospital," as she knows she will most likely be getting a "poke-poke" ... she ALWAYS enjoys going to see Lexi.
Lexi has a calming effect on Anna and easily makes the scary times a little less scary. Without the friendship that little Miss Anna has gained with Lexi, I'm not sure Anna's cancer treatment journey would be as smooth as it has been!"
—Anna Proefrock, of Mounds View, Minnesota
Nurse practitioner Melissa Claar is Leah Schulte's superhero.
"Melissa Claar is our nurse practitioner at the Amplatz Journey Clinic, where my 14-year-old son, Zach Netten, is being treated for stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma. Melissa has been my savior during Zach's treatment..."
Josh Lavalle’s superhero is former Golden Gophers wide receiver Connor Cosgrove, who is also being treated for leukemia.
Ashley Evenson's superhero is her mom, Rose.
Watch Ashley's superhero video.
Jacob Galbraith's superheroes are all of the Amplatz Children's Hospital staff members who helped him get better. Bonus: Jacob is a superhero to his mom, Heather.
Watch Jacob's superhero video.
Golden Gopher student-athletes visited University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital to share their real-life and fictional superheroes.
Watch their videos to find out more about their superheroes.
Eleafar Xelhua-Romero is one of Dr. Jakub Tolar’s superheroes.
"Eleafar is my inspirational superhero! His gentle spirit touches everyone who meets him. He has endured the pain and difficulty of a bone marrow transplant to achieve his goal of being able to hug his mother. Eleafar inspires me (and others) with his selflessness and grace in handling EB and every other challenge he meets."
—Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D.
Isaac Crawley’s superhero is Amplatz surgeon Donavon Hess, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.
"My son Isaac’s superhero is Donavon Hess, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. We arrived at Amplatz in April of 2009, when Isaac was 4 months old. Isaac was born with esophageal atresia – an incomplete esophagus. We came from northern Virginia to Minneapolis, not knowing what to expect.
Dr. Hess performed countless surgeries and procedures on our Isaac – somewhere around 15 total! Because of Dr. Hess, Isaac has an esophagus and an amazing quality of life that he would not have otherwise had.
We still travel from Virginia to Minnesota every couple of months for procedures with Dr. Hess. His dedication to our son has never been matched."
—Kim Crawley, Isaac’s mother
Charlie Knuth is one of Dr. Jakub Tolar’s superheroes.
"Charlie is a superhero fighter! He has fought his way back from epidermolysis bullosa, from life-threatening complications, and from TWO bone marrow transplants. Charlie is my superhero because he is one brave kid with one awesome grin!"
—Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D.
Great-grandma P.J. says that her real-life superhero is baby Easton, a patient at Amplatz.
Connie, who works in the Amplatz Specialty Clinic, says that her mom is her real-life superhero.
Watch Connie's superhero video.
Marylou, a nurse at Amplatz, says her mom and dad are her real-life superheros for teaching her to follow her dreams.
Watch Marylou's superhero video.
Channing says her real-life superheros are the doctors she works with at Amplatz.
Watch Channing's superhero video.
NICU nurse Robin Sheldon is the Abel family’s superhero.
"Our twin sons were born at 28 weeks 6 days gestation, weighing just over 3 pounds and just under 2 pounds. They spent 48 days and 143 days, respectively, in the NICU at Amplatz.
The entire NICU staff are heroes and we can never thank them enough for saving our boys' lives and keeping us sane in the process. However, I would like to recognize, specifically, Robin Sheldon, NICU R.N."
Richie, a patient at Amplatz, says God is his superhero.
Watch Richie's superhero video.
Ameily, a patient at Amplatz, says her superhero is her mom.
Watch Ameily's superhero video.
Dr. Jakub Tolar says his superhero is one of his patients, Eleafar.
Watch Dr. Tolar's superhero video.
Jason, a patient at Amplatz, says his parents and sister are his superheroes.
Watch Jason's superhero video.
Stephanie and Tom say their superhero is their daughter, Peyton, who has a hole in her heart and is working hard on getting better so that she can come home.
Watch Peyton's family's superhero video.
Kaleb, a patient at Amplatz, says his hero is his mom, because she protects him. Kaleb’s mom, Tracy, says her hero is Kaleb, because he does such a good job dealing with his transplant.
Watch Kaleb and Tracy's superhero video.
Amplatz nurses Rachel, Tracy, and Alli say their superheroes are the bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients.
Watch Rachel's, Tracy's, and Alli's superhero video.
Emily, a nurse in the Amplatz Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, says her hero is one of her patients who is always smiling at all of the nurses.
Watch Emily's superhero video.
Paul, manager of the Amplatz Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, says his heroes are all of the kids that they treat, because their hearts are so strong and they get better fast.
Rich, the charge nurse on the Amplatz bone marrow transplant floor, says his heroes are the BMT nurses who help protect all of the patients receiving transplants.
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